Polymerisation force of a rigid filament bundle: diffusive interaction leads to sublinear force-number scaling.

ABSTRACT: Polymerising filaments generate force against an obstacle, as in, e.g., microtubule-kinetochore interactions in the eukaryotic cell. Earlier studies of this problem have not included explicit three-dimensional monomer diffusion, and consequently, missed out on two important aspects: (i) the barrier, even when it is far from the polymers, affects free diffusion of monomers and reduces their adsorption at the tips, while (ii) parallel filaments could interact through the monomer density field ("diffusive coupling"), leading to negative interference between them. In our study, both these effects are included and their consequences investigated in detail. A mathematical treatment based on a set of continuum Fokker-Planck equations for combined filament-wall dynamics suggests that the barrier-i

SUBMITTER: Valiyakath J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5802839 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature